


Listen!!

by Felloffalot



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Idols, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-16
Updated: 2020-01-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:47:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22275856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Felloffalot/pseuds/Felloffalot
Summary: Hilda is the world's cutest idol, and Marianne is her biggest fan.
Relationships: Marianne von Edmund/Hilda Valentine Goneril
Comments: 3
Kudos: 61





	Listen!!

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote the vast majority of this in an hour because I was trapped at work all day. That's probably why it's so horribly OoC. Enjoy. Or not. I can't tell you what to do.
> 
> I wrote this for Marihilda Week day 4, with the prompt being "modern AU".

“ _Geez, that was one hell of a show! I’m kinda sad that I’m out of time to spend with you guys. How about, to cheer me up… you say my name?_ ”

“ _Hilda! Hilda!_ ”

“ _C’mon, I know you can do better than that! Put your all into it!_ ”

” _HILDA! HILDA!_ ”

Was this the fifth time that Marianne had watched this old recording? Sixth? She had lost track. On depressive, dark days like this one, watching recordings of Hilda Valentine’s performances always gave her just the slightest bit of happiness she needed to face tomorrow.

Though at this point, perhaps those “dark, depressive days” just became “days”, with how much she rewatched Hilda’s shows. However, Marianne could confidently say that at least _one_ good day was coming up soon; the day that she got to go to one of Hilda’s shows live.

She went all out on the expenses. A premium, backstage pass that entitled her to an autograph from Hilda. Maybe even a handshake, if she was lucky. Expensive? Certainly. It cost her several months’ worth of extra money she had saved up, combined with everything her parents gave her for her birthday. Worth it? Definitely.

As Marianne lay there in bed, watching Hilda perform the same song for the umpteenth time that day, her thoughts ran wild. Was Hilda’s natural voice as high-pitched as she made it seem? Was her skin really that soft and silky smooth? Did she smell nice? Marianne thought she would smell really nice, like a rose.

Marianne also thought that she should definitely keep those thoughts to herself when they met.

* * *

If there truly was a Goddess, watching upon all from the Heavens, Hilda must be what she would appear as in her human form. That was the prime thought on Marianne’s mind when she saw Hilda’s show. The _sound_ , the _dancing_ , the _outfit_ – everything she could’ve wished for and more. Sure, being crammed in-between a half-dozen other people wasn’t great, but it was worth it to see Hilda in action.

Of course, she brought back down to Earth when it came time to attend the meet-and-greet. The prospect of actually meeting Hilda caused her palms to start sweating, and when it everybody was piling together to get into the backstage, she wondered if it was too late to leave. If anybody would find a way to ruin their first meeting with the world’s greatest idol, it would be her. The fact that she was surrounded by men, all taller than her, only made her anxiety worse.

But once Marianne saw Hilda in the flesh, all of those anxieties washed away. She was just being casual, chatting a producer about something or other, but Marianne was smitten. Watching Hilda talk and laugh made it seem like nothing else in the world matter.

“Oh, hey!” Hilda said, turning towards the group of people. “You guys are finally here! It’s so nice to meet all of you!” Hilda hurried over and began to shake the hands of the gathered people who had collectively spent way too much money to be here. All of them seemed just as excited to meet Hilda as Marianne was, but something special happened when Hilda got around to shaking Marianne’s hand.

Hilda’s hand was so _warm,_ and _soft_ , and Marianne cursed herself for having sweaty palms when shaking hands with a Goddess.

“Sorry,” Hilda said after her hand met Marianne’s. “I’m all sweaty after that performance. Didn’t have much time to clean up.” Oh. So they _both_ had sweaty palms. Maybe Hilda didn’t notice how nervous Marianne was, then. “You must be Marianne.”

Oh, she _definitely_ noticed now.

Marianne could instantly feel her hands begin to shake, and she sputtered. Why would Hilda, someone who shone brighter than the sun, know the name of Marianne, someone whose eye bags were darker than the unseen side of the moon?

“Yes,” Marianne managed to stutter out. “How did you…?”

“I’m psychic,” Hilda said, tapping the side of her head. Marianne stared, and Hilda laughed. “Kidding, kidding. Yours was the only female name on the list they gave me. I made sure to remember it.” Hilda continued down the line, and Marianne just stared and stared, hardly believing that Hilda remembered her name.

“Alright, guys,” Hilda said after fully working her way down the line. “We’ll start mingling soon, but first, line up for the signing!”

Marianne got behind a few of the men and produced an album from her bag. It was an old one, from six years ago; back when Hilda was only 17. An oldie, but a goodie. Marianne’s favorite.

“Geez, this old thing,” Hilda said when Marianne handed her the album. “Takes me back to my high school days.” Hilda rolled her eyes. “Can’t believe I spent all that time worrying about _boys_.”

“I-I’m sorry,” Marianne said. “Should I not have…?”

“No, no!” Hilda waved her hands in front of her face. “You’re fine! In fact, I’m glad you brought this,” Hilda said as she signed her name on the album’s cover. “Seeing this makes me think about how much I’ve grown all these years. How much I’ve learned about myself.” Hilda handed the album back to Marianne with a smile and a wink, and Marianne felt her heart melt.

* * *

The mingling was… well, middling. Marianne spent most of it standing in the back, away from the rest of the crowd, and away from Hilda. She desperately wanted to get closer and talk to her idol, but she was frozen stiff. They talked, sure, but in brief statements –

_You doin’ alright, Marianne?_

_Mm._

– that didn’t amount to a real conversation in the slightest. Disappointing. Just like Marianne.

“Alright, guys!” Hilda said, yelling loud enough for everybody to hear her. “That’s all I’ve got for today! I really enjoyed all the time I spent with you all. Be sure to come to my next performance, ‘kay?”

The men cried out in unison – _we love you, Hilda! I’ll always be there!_ – while Marianne remained silent.

“And don’t forget to say my name!”

The crowd was ushered out in a single-file line, crying out Hilda’s name all the while. Their shouts of _Hilda! Hilda!_ could probably be heard the next city over. Marianne walked in the back, her head held low, when she suddenly felt a tapping on her shoulder.

It was Hilda.

“Shh,” Hilda said. Marianne was too surprised to make any noise anyway. “Come with me.” Hilda pulled Marianne aside, away from the crowd, who were too caught up in their noisy exit to notice. “I’m about to go to dinner. It’ll just be me. You have ten seconds to decide whether or not you’re coming with me.”

_What?_

“Uhh.” A mumble was all Marianne could produce. Hilda? Inviting her to dinner? It was almost too good to be true. Wait, no, it _was_ too good to be true. Hilda was too good for the likes of her. And why Marianne, over anybody else?

“Five seconds.” Hilda stared intently into Marianne’s eyes, like they were drilling a hole into her soul. They were piercing, but beautiful.

“Y…” Marianne swallowed, and for a brief moment, she could hear the thundering of her heartbeat. “Yes. I’ll go with you.”

“Great.” Hilda smirked, and pulled Marianne away once more.

* * *

When Marianne thought of “going out to dinner”, she thought of going out to the cheap ramen place across the street. Maybe a family restaurant with her parents if she was lucky. Not… _this_. A high-class diner with chandeliers, well-groomed waiters, and what sounded like a live musical performance in the distance.

“Don’t worry about the bill,” Hilda said, intently examining the menu. “I’ll cover all of it.” Hilda had instructed Marianne to wait for a moment so she could change, and so, Hilda had gotten into something less conspicuous. Rather than her idol clothes, she was wearing something simple – a low-cut shirt that exposed her shoulders, a nice pink skirt, and she was wearing her hair in a ponytail rather than her signature pigtails.

And glasses. Who knew Hilda Valentine needed glasses?

They placed their orders. Marianne spoke her first words since they got there during the exchange.

“Geez, that meet-and-greet was such a drag,” Hilda said, stretching in her seat. “Bunch of guys slobbering over me… Thought I was gonna have to call security if they jumped me any minute. You think so too, right?” Hilda put her head in her hands and stared at Marianne.

“Uh…” Marianne stuttered yet again. What was Hilda saying, exactly? That she didn’t like the meet-and-greet? That the bubbly, cheery persona she put on was just that? A mask?

“I can’t stand guys like that,” Hilda said, swirling around the water in her glass with the straw. “I tolerate them cause they pay my bills, but I’d just as soon call them creeps and shoo them away if my manager would let me.”

Marianne said nothing. Really, what _could_ she say? It’s like her world was crashing around her. Like the energetic, positive Hilda Valentine was being murdered before her eyes and replaced by this copycat.

“What makes me different?” Marianne said. Really, what did? Was Hilda saying she didn’t like Marianne either? “I paid all that money to go to your event, just like the rest of them.”

“Well, you’re different. I can tell.”

“How so?”

“Guys like that only care about the fact that I wear skimpy clothing and churn out hit singles ever now and then,” Hilda said, checking her phone. “But you brought me my crappy, old album that I made in high school. Most people don’t even know that thing exists.”

“W-Well-“

“And also, you’re cute. First girl I’ve seen at one of these things in _forever_.”

Marianne blushed, and whatever she had planned on saying next got caught in her throat. _Hilda Valentine_ just said that she, a _literal gremlin_ , was _cute_.

The food arrived, and Marianne got to work at picking at it to desperately distract herself from whatever the _hell_ was going on.

“Whoa, slow down,” Hilda said. “You’re gonna choke.”

Marianne looked up, and Hilda giggled a little, definitely reveling in what a fool Marianne was making of herself.

Hilda and Marianne both went to work at their food in silence, Marianne making a concentrated effort to eat slower. After Hilda finished off most of her plate, she threw her body back in her chair and let out a loud sigh.

“Man, I do _not_ want to go to work tomorrow. I have to record a new song and it’s gonna kill me.”

“But you’re an idol. Don’t you like recording music?” The question escaped Marianne’s mouth before she could even think about it.

“I guess.” Hilda shrugged. “But the truth is, I’m actually really lazy. I prefer to thrust all of my work onto somebody else if I can. If only I could make somebody else do all of my singing.”

Marianne hesitated, then put her silverware aside. She looked at Hilda with concern.

“Why are you telling me all of this?” Marianne said. “Aren’t you afraid of destroying your image?”

“I guess it’s because… I just do things without thinking.” Hilda shrugged. “But also you seem like the trustworthy type. Somebody I could spill all of my worries to. And even if you did say something about tonight, I doubt anybody would believe you. You’d get chased off of the internet in a heartbeat.” Well, Marianne couldn’t argue with her there. “And besides…”

Hilda reached over and cupped Marianne’s cheek. Hilda could almost certainly feel the warmth. Even if the real Hilda’s personality was different, it definitely didn’t change how beautiful she was.

“You seem like somebody I could get _involved_ with.”

“W-What?”

“You remember how I told you that I learned a lot about myself after that album?” Hilda put on a coy smile and lowered her eyelids, almost making her look seductive. “I realized that all the time I spent on those boys was a waste. I realized that I never really liked boys in the first place.”

“You mean…?”

“Yeah.” Hilda moved her thumb, subtly rubbing Marianne’s cheek. “So what do you say, Marianne? Do you want to get _involved_ with me? It might not be easy, but… it could be fun.”

Marianne took a moment to process this. It was all absolutely insane, like a bizarre dream that she was one alarm ring way from waking up from.

But the ring never came.

“I… I do,” Marianne finally answered. Hilda smiled even wider and learned over, meeting Marianne’s lips with her own. It was short, chaste, and a bit clumsy, but _damn_ if Marianne didn’t feel the butterflies in her stomach – especially so when Hilda stared into her eyes afterwards.

Hilda abruptly stood up and began to walk away, leaving Marianne dumbstruck at the table. She was just going to leave? After all of that? But before Hilda could leave her view, she turned around with a grin that almost seemed evil.

“If you’re serious, then come to my next show,” Hilda said. “The backstage pass is on me. I’ll give you a performance that you’ll never forget.” And thus, Hilda left.

Marianne had seen a glimpse of Hilda. The _real_ Hilda. The one not hidden behind marketing and promotions. The Hilda she thought she knew had disappeared that night.

Well, this new one was pretty good too.


End file.
